Boys and girls basketball teams across Virginia have punched their tickets to state championship games, with the state semifinal round finished.
On the boys side, Fort Chiswell’s 87-56 win over PH-Glade Spring sends the Pioneers to a state title game for the first time in 51 years. The Pioneers win was headlined by Owen Jackson’s 21 points along with Ty Crockett pouring in 18 points of his own.
“Our defense, I feel like, got us over the top,” said Derrick Jackson, Fort Chiswell’s head coach. “They didn’t do well with our defense, I don’t think, at all. Very proud of my kids. Very proud of our community coming out. Great support tonight. Love, love Fort Chiswell basketball.”
The Pioneers will gear up for a date with Luray on Friday, March 13th at 8 p.m.
Lake Taylor took down Liberty Christian Academy Friday night in the Class 3 semifinals, 61-45. Liberty Christian ends their season with a 21-8 record.
On the girls side, Galax got the better of George Wythe 61-37 with an all out offensive blitz, as the Maroon Tide once held a 23 point lead in the second half.
The Maroon Tide also shut GW down on defense, holding them to a season-low 37 points.
“I think this is going to stick with us and I’m not going to forget this,” said Junior Center Keely Bartlett. “I mean, I’m with my seniors and all that and I’m with my perfect team really. I love this team a lot.”
“I can’t even say how proud I am,” said Head Coach Patrick Puckett. “I’m so excited for the fact that, you know, they’ve worked so hard all year. We fought against George Wythe multiple times. They won three games against us and we finally were able to get the past two. This one was going to be huge. I didn’t know how my girls were going to respond because they’re pretty young. So I was very excited how they performed.”
The Maroon Tide will take on Luray next Friday night at 6 p.m.
William Fleming’s season came to an end after a 57-43 loss to defending class 5 state champions Princess Anne.